Elven Glow
by Gwenneth
Summary: Estel is young and doesn't understand why he is different from his Elven family. He sees something one night and is determined to achieve it. Will he be hurt? COMPLETE


**Elven Glow  
**By Gwenneth

**Disclaimers**: Not mine...I own nothing in this universe. I do reserve the right to thoroughly enjoy writing this though and I sincerely thank Mr. / Dr. / the Great J.R.R. Tolkien for creating these beautiful people, places and things! Now, on with the summary and story!

**Summary**: Estel is new to Imladris and the Elves he now calls family. Yet one thing sets him apart from that that Estel is determined to do something about. Will that something lead to a disasterous outcome? Find out!

**Rating**: Uhm that K+ ish area...

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_Soon after the death of Gilraen...Estel is aged 6 years..._

"What IS that?"

The 6-year-old pushed himself up on his tiptoes, grasping the window ledge firmly to keep himself from tottering to the side as he stretched and cranned his neck in a somewhat vain attempt to see outside the home of Lord Elrond. Having been with the Elf for a number of years already, Estel was one of the family, but he was still a child. And children had a bedtime, which had passed this night. Estel, however, knew that company was due to arrive and he was determined to witness the newcomers entrance.

Hence his tiptoe stance.

"I never saw that before? Why do they look like that?"

The boy had a habit of speaking to himself, especially when it was a topic that revolved around his lack of knowledge on the ways of Elves. He did not like to admit to his newfound family that he did not understand their kind. Why they never fell ill. Why they never seem to tire or to need sleep or even much food. To a young mortal mind these things made little or no sense.

"And now they glow..." he muttered.

Though he had lived with the Elves for years, Estel had little occasion to see his new family in the darkness of the night. Being scared of the dark, he slept with a surprising amount of light from a small lamp and he had never seen his Elvish kin in the dark. Until now. It was deep night and the thick blanket of black covered the paths of Imladris. It was broken, every so often, by the lightly glowing forms of Elves.

Huffing lightly, Estel had seen enough. Slumping back down onto his heels, he thumped over to his night lamp and stared at it. Looking down at his hand, he saw it illuminated in the lamp. "Ada is an Elf and since I can call him Ada, why shouldn't I be like him?" The boy said quietly, still staring at his hand.

He looked up at the lamp and before he knew why he was doing it, the boy doused the light, pitching the room into inky blackness. He frowned. Nothing. No light, no illumination, no glow. As a matter of fact, he couldn't see an inch in front of him. There was little light from the moon tonight and his room was very, very dark.

Shivering slightly, he turned in the direction he knew the door to be and walked tentatively forward. Reaching out, he found the door and moments later the handle. Turning it, he opened the door and light flooded into the room. Estel saw the newcomers enter the Last Homely House, unaware they had a spy. The royals from Mirkwood were Woodelves and Estel was madly desirous of meeting them.

But that would have to wait. He had a mission at hand and nothing would deter him from it.

Glancing both ways, Estel darted out of his room. There was one place he could find what he needed. The cellar. Normally, he didn't venture to that part of the house; it was too scary and dark. But now, Estel knew he would never need to be afraid of the dark again. He was going to fix himself and he knew how to do it. Or so he thought.

Hurrying down the corridors he hoped he would not be stopped or found. The small feet of the mortal boy hit the ground lightly, but still made noise. Another thing un-Elflike. But at the moment Estel didn't care. He had his mind, and his heart, set on one thing and he refused to lose sight of that.

Finally, he found the door he was looking for. Pushing it forward gently, he stuck his tousled, dark-haired head through the cracked door and looked around. No one was visible and the room was bathed in a very dim light. It had been left for the night. Perfect for a scheming boy.

Seeing his quarry on top of the counter, Estel hurried forward, only to realize soon after that he was too short to reach his prize. The slightly over three foot tall boy couldn't reach the bottle at the back edge of the counter and he frowned at that realization. Looking to his right he spied a small chair and smiled.

Dragging the wooden chair to the counter's edge, Estel climbed atop it, teetering for a moment, then seized the glass bottle and hopped back down not bothering to replace the moved chair. Instead, he hurried from the room, leaving the door ajar in his haste. The smile on his face revealed his joy at his success thus far.

In no time flat he was back in his room. But before he shut the door Estel made certain he relit his light with the small flint that was stored behind it. Then, he securely closed the heavy wooden door and sat himself on the chair beside the night lamp table. His father would often read to him from this chair, using the light of his lamp to see by.

Now, Estel would make his father love him more. He would show his family he was more like them than not. Uncorking the glass bottle, which was surprisingly easy for his small fingers, Estel sniffed the contents and wrinkled his nose. But he had come so far and wouldn't stop now.

He poured the liquid all over his arms and wiped it over all the exposed skin he could find. He hated the smell, but he knew this would accomplish his goal and he stoically endured it. Once he was well-saturated, Estel eyed the lamp and then the door. ONce he accomplished his goal he would go show his family.

That in mind, Estel placed his two arms over the flames of the lamp and watched in shocked silence as the flames licked his arms. Then, to the boy's horror, both arms ignited in a blaze of light and pain. Crying out sharply, Estel drew his arms back and screamed in pain, his body shaking and his mouth involuntarily shrieking.

Footsteps pounded from his brothers' room down the corridor and his door flung open, two dark-haired, identical elves and one blonde elf spilling into the room. "Estel!" Cried the eldest of the newcomers, Elladan. "What happened?"

Rushing forward, Elrohir doused the flames on the boy's arms, not noting the stench in the room. The blonde Elf, however, did. "I smell alcohol. Aged white wine to be specific. What would that smell be doing in the room of a 6-year-old?" He followed closely as Elladan and Elrohir brought their little mortal brother to the Healing Wing where Elrond met them, followed by a tousled King Thranduil.

No one immediately answered Legolas' question.

Elrond took over the minstrations that Elladan had begun, prying Estel's arms away from the boy's body where the child had firmly secured them in his pain. Elrohir held one arm out, Elrond the other and the Elf Lord began to clean and apply salve to the wounds. "Why did you do this child?" he whispered, hoping for an answer.

Tears sprang from Estel's eyes as he sat relatively still. The Elf Lord's heart melted. "I'm sorry, ion nin. I know this hurts you. I will go quickly. You need not cry young one, all will be well."

But Estel didn't stop crying, he cried harder. "What is it?" Elrohir asked gently.

The boy, sniffling for a second, managed to grate out. "It didn't work!"

Legolas frowned. "What didn't work, young Estel of Imladris? Why would you do this to yourself?"

Lookingup at the Woodelf Prince in awe, Estel momentarily forgot his pain. "To be like you."

Legolas didn't understand at first. The boy didn't know him, how would lighting himself on fire make him more like the Elf? Then he realized, Estel was speaking generically. "You mean to be like an Elf? Don't you?"

The boy sniffled and nodded, burying himself into Elrond's robes when the Elf finished administering to the boy's wounds. "Yes. I saw you all outside. I want to be like my family! I don't want to be different!" He paused. "I want to glow too!"

The intakes of breath would have woken the dead they were so loud. Elrond hugged the boy close, not too hard for fear of hurting him. "Oh, Estel, you are perfect how you are. You need not be like us! You need not glow for us to love you like any other in our family!"

But the boy shook his head. "I wanted to be special. Elves have a special glow!"

Legolas frowned. "But so do you, Estel."

All eyes turned on the contemplative, usually quiet, Elf Prince. Seeing he had an audience, Legolas frowned more. But to their surprise, he knelt before the little human boy in the Elf Lord's lap. "You have a glow, Estel. You just can't see it."

A look of confusion crossed the boy's face. "What do you mean?" he asked quietly, hope appearing in his eyes.

Taking a shaky breath, Legolas replied, "You have an inner glow, Estel. A glow that only mortals have. You can bring joy to your family simply by being alive. As long as your heart continues to beat, nothing can extinguish your inner light. You needn't glow on the outside. You are more what an Elf should be than many who glow on the outside."

It took a while, but Estel understand. At least as well as a child could. "So I am special? Like Elves? I have a glow that I just can't look at?"

"Yes," Elrond smiled, snuggling his son closer. "Yes, you do."

A small smile graced the small boy's face and a broad one the Elf Lord's. Looking up at Legolas he nodded, his thanks apparent in his face. No words were needed this time around. The family slowly dispersed and left Elrond with a sleeping Estel in his arms. Sitting back in his armchair, Elrond remained thus.

The glow of the morning sun slowly peeked in through the windows and the Elf sighed in contentment. The boy had learned an important lesson this day. And had made an unlikely friend. But that's another story...

**THE END**

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**A/N: I was SOOOO tired when I wrote this. I have been up for about 22 hours and I am ready to just COLLAPSE into bed. So if this is incoherent or if this is badly in need of edits, I guess you'll let me know. But please be kind and constructive, not rude! Thanks!**

**-Gwenneth**


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